1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of toy banks, and more particularly, is directed to a toy bank featuring a flexible member which is capable of expanding in response to the insertion of a plurality of coins within the bank.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Small coin receiving banks have long been popular both in this country and in many foreign countries and such small, portable banks have been and are still being popularly used both by children and adults for storing and saving a multitude of coins.
Most prior art types of coin banks are constructed of rigid materials, usually metal, in order to provide a degree of security. Additionally, banks fabricated of other hard materials such as ceramics, glass, earthenware and the like have been manufactured. The previously designed and used banks are generally rugged in construction and are designed to include a coin receiving body or enclosure and are provided with an upper coin slot to receive coins therethrough. Most of the prior art designs have also included some type of lockable feature which permits access to the contents of the bank after it has been filled and it is desired to open the bank to retrieve the coins. In those instances wherein a locked door or other arrangement is not provided, it is then necessary to actually smash or otherwise break the bank in order to gain access to the interior contents. The popular glass and ceramic "piggy" banks are characteristic of this type of bank whereby once the bank is filled, it must then be destroyed in order to gain access to the stored coins.
While most prior art banks are rigid in construction in order to securely contain the coins therewithin, it is known that flexible materials have also been employed by prior workers in the art for bank construction purposes. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,718,738, a flexible bank for coins has been disclosed which includes generally a flexible bag having a sidewall portion, a base or bottom portion and an upper edge. When only a few coins are placed in the bag, the bank will not stand upright. After more coins are added, the bag sidewalls will flex and the base portion will then be sufficiently expanded to support the bank in an upright position. This bank is formed of flexible plastic material having its seams closed by heat sealing. When it is desired to open the flexible bank, a knife or similar implement must be employed to actually cut through the bank sidewall construction, thereby rendering the device a single service bank that is incapable of reuse.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,768,472, there is disclosed a toy bank in the configuration of an animal or bird wherein each design comprises a molded rubber body portion having affixed thereto a thin sheet rubber membrane. The membrane is designed and intended to expand upon the entrance of a sufficient number of coins into the bank interior to thereby assume an expanded configuration to visually indicate the approximate number of coins contained within the bank.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,779,128, a coin piggy bank has been disclosed wherein the entire hollow body is fabricated from a flexible plastic material which is capable of ready deformation. When the weight of the coins which are inserted into the piggy bank becomes too great, the rearward and forward legs of the bank configuration will collapse, thereby alerting the owner of the fact that the bank has become full. A discharge opening is provided in the bottom of the coin bank whereby the coins can be removed by unthreading the closing plug to thereby gain access to the bank interior.
None of the prior art expandable bank devices, so far as is known to the present applicant, teach or disclose any type of construction feature which enables the user to gain access to the bank interior directly at or about the flexible construction members and then to reassemble and repeatly use the bank.